anonüümida

Anonüümida is an Estonian verb meaning to anonymize— to remove or obscure identifying information from data, content, or records so that individuals cannot be readily identified. The term is formed from anonüüm, meaning anonymous, with the infinitive suffix -ida.

In practice, anonüümida is used in data protection, research ethics, journalism, and information governance. Common methods include removing direct identifiers (names, contact details), replacing them with pseudonyms, and applying techniques such as generalization, suppression, data masking, or adding statistical noise. Anonymization differs from pseudonymization in that the former aims to prevent any subsequent identification of the data subject, while the latter preserves a key or code that could allow re-linking under controlled conditions.

Legal and ethical context: when data are truly anonymized, they typically fall outside the scope of data protection rules such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); pseudonymized data remain subject to the rules, albeit with safeguards.

Limitations: achieving true anonymization can be difficult, especially with rich datasets or the possibility of data linkage. There is always a residual risk of re-identification, particularly when external data sources are available.

See also: anonymization, de-identification, data protection, privacy.